Fishhook package



Sept, 22, 1959 A K C, CLARK ET AL 2,904,925

FISHHOOK PACKAGE Filed Jan. I5, 1956 A nl :n f. ai@

United States Patent O FISHHOOK PACKAGE l Kenneth C. Clark and John F. Strickland, La Crescenta, Calif.

Application January 3, 1956, Serial No. 551,112

' A'3 Claims. (Cl. 4357.5)

This invention relates to fishing` tackle and particularly to an improved packaging means for fishhooks.

The shhooks used by trout iishermen are very small and are diflicult to handle and if dropped into the water are lost and ifdropped on the ground, are diiiicult to see. Also, if carried in a box or other package they are tangled together and are often difficult to separate, especially under fishing conditions.

With these. conditions in mind, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide a packaging means for ishhooks in which each individual hook is detachably securedl to a separable portion of the, packaging means effective to serve as a holding means for the hook while itr is being attached to a line and which is of such size as to be readily seen if dropped and preferably being suicently buoyant so that if dropped in the water it will both support the hook and. make possible the retrieving of the dropped hook and holding means.

Another object of the invention is to provide a packaging means for iishhooks in which the individual hooks are mounted on strips of cardboard in an arrangement like matchbooks andfwherein the. strips and the hooks carried thereby can be torn out of the package with the strip then serving as a handle by which the hook can be held while being tied to a line or leader; the strip thereafter beingdiscarded.

With the foregoing objects in view, together with such additional objects and advantages as may Subsequently .g

appear, the invention resides in the provision of a packaging means for iishhooks described, by way of example, in the following specification of certain presently preferred modes of execution of the invention; reference being had to the accompanying drawings which form a part of said specification and in which drawings:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a fishhook package of the match book type embodying the invention,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front elevational view of the package shown in Fig. l opened for access; portions of the covering means being broken away,

Fig. 3 is a further enlarged perspective view of one of the hook holding elements shown in Figs. 1 and 2,

Fig. 4 is a still further enlarged longitudinal, sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3 showing one mode of attaching the hook to the holding means,

Fig. 5 is a front view of a modification of the match book type of package; a portion of the cover being broken away to show the hooks and their individual holding means, and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged scale, fragmentary, sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5 showing the modified means of attaching the hooks to their individual holding means.

Referring first to the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 through 6, there is shown in Figs. l through 4 a fishhook package resembling a paper match pack comprising two hook holding members 1 and 2 formed of cardboard having their lower ends secured in the folded over end of the semi-flexible paper cover 3 by any suitice able means as the staples 4; the other end of the cover forming a iiap 5 adapted to be bent over the upper ends of the members 1 and Z and to be releasably held by being tucked under the end 6 of the cover disposed above the staples 4. As illustrated', the members 1 and 2 are slitted from the upper edge thereof downwardly to a pointslightly above the staples 4 to form a, series of strips 7 which mayl be torn off from the base at the ends of the slits in the manner of tearing oifpaper matches. At their upper ends the ngers or strips 7 eachV carry a shhook 8 secured to the front fac-e thereof bya strip of adhesively secured tape 9; the hooks each being disposed with the eye 1 0 thereof extending above the stripl on which it ismounted. The hooks illustrated are those used by trout fishermen using salmon eggs or other bait as distinguished from dies. These hooks are both very small inY size (the smallest sizes being about i716 across from point to the shank) and the eyes thereof are bent to, one side of the plane containing the curve ofthe hook and are angularly bent toward the point of the hook as shown in the drawings. When hooks of this small size are carried loosely in a container, they become entangled and because of their small size, they are difficult to separate especially under conditions often prevailingy when iishing. If they drop to the ground they are diiiicult toY find and if they drop in the water, they are completely lost.

With the present invention, the strip containing a hook is torn from the package and the strip serves as a convenient handle to hold the hook while being tied to a line. or leader; the positioning of the eye of the hook be yond the end of the strip making threading with the line or leader more readily accomplished. The strip is then pulled from the hook and discarded. If by any chance the torn off strip and hook should be dropped on the ground, it can be readily seen. If dropped in the water, it will float and thus make possible the recovery on the hook. Further there isno danger of hooks becoming entangled w-ith each other or of several being dropped incident to trying to disentangle several hooks. Even if the entireV package is dropped in the water, the fact that it is buoyant will make possible the recovery of the package; To the latter end, while not absolutely necessary, the members 1 and 2 may be made waterproof or at least somewhat resistant lto penetration by water to preserve the factor of buoyancy. As shown in Fig. l, the package includes two sizes of hooks; the member 1 carrying the smaller hooks and being shorter than the member 2. It will be appreciated that this is by way of example and that the members may be of the same height and carry either all hooks of one size or of several sizes. Further, if desired, there may be more than two hook carrying members enclosed within a single cover. Additionally, the form of the invention makes possible the use of advertising media on the exposed surfaces of the cover and of the strips.

Referring next to Figs. 5 and 6, there is shown a modiiication of the form of the invention shown in the preceding figures. The modification comprises a cover 11 attached to and surrounding one or more slitted hook holding members 12; the members having hook holding strips or fingers 13 with hooks 14 attached to the upper ends thereof with the eyes similarly exposed by a suitable adhesive 1S which covers the hooks and adheres to the strip material. By way of example, paraiiine wax is satisfactory for such use in that it is readily applied, makes a good bond with the strip material, and is readily cleaned from the hook. The manner of use of this modified form of the invention and the advantages to be derived therefrom are the same as related in connection with the first described embodiment of the invention. While not as readily applied as the tape disclosed in the said rst form, the use of a Waterproof wax or like adhesive has the advantage of not eventually releasing the hook from the strip in the event of prolonged immersion.

Thus, there has been provided a packaging means for fishhooks which is both simple in form and easy to use without the annoyance of losing hooks and with the advantage with very small hooks of providing a handle means for holding the hooks for attachment on a line or leader. While several presently preferred forms of the invention have been described With explanations of the comparative advantages and disadvantages of each, it is appreciated that in the light of the foregoing disclosure, changes and modifications Will suggest themselves to others 'skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the invention shall be deemed to embrace not only the modes of execution above disclosed, but also to include all such changes and modifications as shall come Within the purview of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a package for very small fshhooks, a strip of frangible material cut through along parallel lines at spaced points from one edge of the strip to points adjacent the opposite edge of the strip to provide weakened sections at which portions of the strip can be torn off; each of said portions adjacent an edge thereof having a lishhook detachably secured thereto and substantially covered thereby except for having the eye of the hook disposed beyond said edge, whereby each of said portions when torn ofI" from said strip, may serve as a handle means for holding the hook secured thereto for threading of the eye thereof by a line or leader incident to the attachment of the hook thereto and said handle forming portions being thereafter removed and discarded from the hook; said strip comprising cardboard and said hooks being attached to the portions of said strip by adhesive tape overlying the hook and engaging the surface of the cardboard.

2. In a package for very small fish hooks, a strip of frangible material cut through along parallel lines at spaced points from one edge of the strip to points adjacent the opposite edge of the strip to provide weakened sections at which portions of the strip can be torn off; each of said portions adjacent an edge thereof having a iishhook detachably secured thereto and substantially covered thereby except for having the eye of the hook disposed beyond said edge, whereby each of said portions when torn 01T from said strip, may serve as handle means for holding the hook secured thereto for threading of the eye thereof by a line or leader incident to the attachment of the hook thereto and said handle forming portions being thereafter removed and discarded from the hook; and cover means for said package comprising a length of paper doubled transversely on itself adjacent one edge thereof and thence extending around said shhook holding strip, and means for securing said doubled end of said cover to the edge of the strip remote from the shhook holding portions thereof, the other end of said cover extending over the iishhook holding edge of the strip and the shhook secured thereto and being removably retained by a portion of said doubled end of said cover extending beyond said cover securing means.

3. A fishhook package as claimed in claim 2 in which said strip comprises cardboard and in which the hooks are` secured to the portions of said strip by a frangible wax surrounding the hook and adhesively engaging the cardboard.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 726,509 Connor Apr. 28, 1903 1,263,218 Fischer Apr. 16, 1918 y 1,351,241 Graham Aug. 31, 1920 1,734,551 Zeller Nov. 5, 1929 2,012,405 Salsberg Aug. 27, 1935 2,065,234 Martniez Dec. 22, 1936 v 2,268,379 Baird et al Dec. 30, 1941 2,288,386 Belden June 30, 1942 2,371,517 Groulx Mar. 13, 1945 2,457,924 Salsberg Jan. 4, 1949 2,495,734 Katzman et al Jan. 31, 1950 2,547,779 Renyck Apr. 3, 1951 2,574,152 Lewis et al Nov. 6, 1951 2,703,467 Shepherd Mar. 8, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 12,646 Great Britain May 4, 1895 OTHER REFERENCES byV Hal Sharp. Inc., 1954. Page 28, Neat 

